Arnold Schoenberg's seminal "Pierrot Lunaire" set listeners' hair on fire in 1912. The work for solo vocalist and chamber orchestra was so shockingly expressive, the images so marvelously bloody, people didn't know whether to clap or flee.

"Pierrot" is a fabulous piece about a lovesick clown, a stock character of French pantomime, who blasphemes, mocks, rages and wimpers amid hints of death. A bloody moon hangs over all, but the singer's voice is what shocked people. It's a hybrid of speech and singing, and includes murmurs, shrieks, wails and chanting on poems by the Belgian dramatist Albert Giraud.

"The idea is that for Pierrot, you don't necessarily want a 'singer,' certainly not an opera singer," says Ken Selden, who will conduct the performance. "First and foremost, (you want) a sensitive and intelligent musician, someone with poetic and creative talent. My idea is for the speaker's part to be balanced in counterpoint with the instruments. Actually, not my idea. It is documented that Schoenberg asked the singer in the first recording to move away from the microphone because he she was drowning out the instruments. Unfortunately, she refused to, and the recording was not particularly successful."

Marylhurst University's Department of Music presents one performance, led by Portland State University's Selden. Pollyanna Hancock-Moody sings the role of Pierrot, accompanied by members of the Oregon Symphony and pianist Janet Coleman.

7:30 p.m. Friday, May 23

St. Anne's Chapel, Marylhurst University. The concert was originally to take place in Flavia Hall at Marylhurst, but has been moved to St. Anne's Chapel to accommodate more people.